[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4122 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4122

To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to clarify provisions enacted 
  by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, to further the conservation of 
           certain wildlife species, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2012

 Mr. McKeon (for himself, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Farr, 
and Mr. Kucinich) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to clarify provisions enacted 
  by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, to further the conservation of 
           certain wildlife species, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Big Cats and Public Safety 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The global illicit trade in wildlife may be worth up to 
        $20,000,000,000 annually and the value of United States legal 
        wildlife trade was recently estimated at $2,800,000,000 
        annually.
            (2) The illegal trade in prohibited wildlife species (as 
        that term is defined in the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981) 
        stimulates demand and expands markets in which those species 
        can be illegally sold.
            (3) The private ownership of and commerce in prohibited 
        wildlife species has a substantial and detrimental effect on 
        the health and general welfare of the American people and on 
        the species themselves.
            (4) Activities related to prohibited wildlife species that 
        are not an integral part of the interstate or foreign commerce 
        in such species, such as private ownership and possession, 
        nonetheless have a substantial and direct effect upon 
        interstate commerce because--
                    (A) after breeding, many prohibited wildlife 
                species are transported in interstate commerce; and
                    (B) privately owned prohibited wildlife species 
                have been transported in interstate commerce before 
                transfer of ownership.
            (5) Private ownership of prohibited wildlife species 
        contributes to swelling the interstate traffic in those 
        species.
            (6) Prohibited wildlife species in private ownership or 
        possession, or distributed intrastate, are fungible commodities 
        that cannot be differentiated from prohibited wildlife species 
        possessed or distributed interstate. Thus, it is not feasible 
        to distinguish, in terms of control, between prohibited 
        wildlife species in private ownership or possession or 
        distributed intrastate and prohibited wildlife species 
        possessed and distributed interstate.
            (7) Federal control of the intrastate private ownership and 
        breeding of prohibited wildlife species is essential to the 
        effective control of the interstate incidents of traffic in 
        such species.
            (8) The United States is a party to the Convention on 
        International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 
        Flora, which was designed to protect species of wild fauna and 
        flora against over-exploitation through international trade.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 2 of the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l) Breed.--The term `breed' means to facilitate the reproduction 
of a prohibited wildlife species for commercial use.''.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITIONS.

    Section 3(a) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3372(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by adding ``or'' after the semicolon at the end 
                of subparagraph (A); and
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (C);
            (2) by striking ``or'' after the semicolon at the end of 
        paragraph (3), by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5), 
        and by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) subject to subsection (e), to import, export, 
        transport, sell, receive, acquire, purchase, breed, possess, or 
        own any prohibited wildlife species; or''; and
            (3) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, by striking ``(1) 
        through (3)'' and inserting ``(1) through (4)''.

SEC. 5. NONAPPLICABILITY OF OFFENSES.

    (a) In General.--Section 3(e) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3372(e)) is 
amended--
            (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
            ``(1) In general.--Subsection (a)(4) does not apply to--
                    ``(A) importation, exportation, transportation, 
                sale, receipt, acquisition, breeding, possession, 
                ownership, or purchase of an animal of a prohibited 
                wildlife species, by a person that, under regulations 
                prescribed under paragraph (3), is described in 
                subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) paragraph (2) with 
                respect to that species; and
                    ``(B) transportation, possession, or ownership of 
                an animal of a prohibited wildlife species, by a person 
                that, under regulations prescribed under paragraph (3), 
                is described in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) with 
                respect to that animal.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(A) is a zoo accredited by the Association of 
                Zoos and Aquariums;''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (C)--
                            (i) by striking ``is an accredited'';
                            (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ``and'';
                            (iii) in clause (iv), by striking ``or'' 
                        and inserting ``and''; and
                            (iv) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(v) does not allow the transport and 
                        display of animals off-site;'';
                    (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) is in possession of one or more animals of 
                the prohibited wildlife species, that--
                            ``(i) were born before the date of 
                        enactment of this subparagraph; and
                            ``(ii) are registered with the Animal and 
                        Plant Health Inspection Service within 6 months 
                        after the date of promulgation of regulations 
                        implementing this subparagraph by the Secretary 
                        of the Interior and the Secretary of 
                        Agriculture.''.
    (b) Regulations.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Secretary of 
Agriculture, acting through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service, shall promulgate regulations implementing the amendments made 
by this section.

SEC. 6. PENALTIES.

    (a) Civil Penalties.--Section 4(a)(1) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 
3373(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)(4),'' after ``subsections''; and
            (2) by striking ``subsection (d)'' and inserting 
        ``subsection (a)(4), (d),''.
    (b) Criminal Penalties.--Section 4(d) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 
3373(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' after 
                the comma at the end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``or'' after the 
                comma at the end; and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 
                following:
                    ``(C) knowingly violates paragraph (4) of section 
                3(a),''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, or in the exercise 
        of due care should know that the conduct violates paragraph (4) 
        of section 3(a),'' after ``treaty or regulation''.

SEC. 7. FORFEITURE.

    Section 5(a) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3374(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``bred, possessed, 
        owned,'' after ``acquired,''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by inserting ``breeding, possessing, owning,'' 
                after ``acquiring,''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``or involved the breeding, 
                possession, or ownership of a prohibited wildlife 
                species''.
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